figures of obscuring
figures of speech
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While an argument can be made that any rhetorical figure is an obscuring of meaning, there are some figures which are explicitly intended to make understanding difficult or impossible.
  • enigma
    Obscuring one's meaning by presenting it within a riddle or by means of metaphors that purposefully challenge the reader or hearer to understand.
  • schematismus
    Concealing a meaning by using figurative language, either out of necessity or for humor's sake.
  • noema
    An obscure and subtle speech.
  • allegory
    A sustained metaphor continued through whole sentences or even through a whole discourse. While not necessarily obscuring, it can be.
  • skotison
    Purposeful obscurity.


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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young University
Please cite "Silva Rhetoricae" (rhetoric.byu.edu)

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